Thanks for joining us for the Budget live blog. We're off to trawl through the 86 pages of Budget report that accompanied Hammond's speech. We'll be reporting on our findings tomorrow as usual on This is Money.

Half an hour until the cost of cigarettes goes up - by up to 61p a pack

Tax on all tobacco products are going up by two percentage points above RPI inflation from tonight. RPI inflation is currently four per cent, so that's a six percentage point rise in tax.

There will be an additional one percentage point rise on tax on hand rolling tobacco. That brings it up to seven per cent.

And the changes come in at 6pm this evening.

The average cost of a 20-pack of premium cigarettes is currently £10.26, according to figures from the Tobacco Manufacturers' Association. That follows a 35p increase as recently as March.

A six per cent rise on that brings the average pack up by another 61p to £10.87.

However, the Office for Budget Responsibility doesn't expect that this rise will bring in any more tax.

This must be because the number of people who smoke tobacco continues to fall.

The Tobacco Manufacturers' Association says that 'Tobacco prices have increased by around 70 per cent since 2010 including in effect three increases already this year thanks to the March budget increase, the ban on small packs and the introduction of a minimum excise tax.'

17:22

Spending on International Trade set to fall?!

This is an interesting one, considering the focus on International Trade as we head towards Brexit.

Spending on it is set to fall, from £0.4billion this year to £0.3billion next and the year after that.

In the meantime, spending for Exiting the EU is forecast to remain constant at £100million a year throughout the whole process.

Will we look back at these numbers in a few years time as wildly optimistic?

budget 2017 4.JPG

17:08

Pension savers dodge a Budget hit

Rumours had been swirling that Hammond would cut back on pension tax relief to pay for other projects.

It's set to introduce all sorts of quirks. We're unlikely to see many homes on sale for just a smidge above £500,000, for example.

She looks at how much money a first-time buyer will have had to have saved to benefit from the stamp duty cut at all.

And where in the country buyers are most likely to be able to find a home for less than £300,000.

16:48

Before we give Hammond a pat on the back...

Government borrowing has fallen, the Budget shows.

But before we give Hammond a pat on the back and congratulate him on his ‘fiscal prudence’, look at this.

Borrowing is lower because of three things: we paid more in tax than had been expected, the government spent a bit less than planned – but also, the government changed the way it does the accounts.

‘Classification changes’ it calls it.

Borrowing is £8.4billion lower than forecast in the Spring Budget earlier this year, taxes collected are £3.1billion higher – and classification changes reduced borrowing by £2.8billion.

These classification changes will also reduce borrowing by £5.1billion in 2020-21.

The changes are primarily the reclassification of English Housing Associations to the private sector – in essence that means that their debts are off the books so it no longer looks like the government is borrowing as much.

Source: HM Treasury

16:06

The Chancellor unleashed several jokes on his colleagues during the speech, to questionable effect

Here is a selection of them courtesy of the Press Association -

He used a sidekick for his first joke, referencing Theresa May's struggle with a cough during her speech at this year's Tory conference.

He said: "Mr Deputy Speaker, I'm being tempted by something a little more exotic here, but I'm going to stick to plain water. I did take the precaution of asking my right honourable friend to bring a packet of cough sweets just in case."

Hammond also poked fun at his Cabinet colleague Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, who was accused last week of "auditioning" for the role of Chancellor by using "long economicky words" in Cabinet meetings.

The Chancellor said: "Mr Deputy Speaker, I shall first report to the House on the economic forecasts of the independent OBR. This is the bit with the long, economicky words."

The news that Kezia Dugdale, former leader of the Scottish Labour Party, has headed to the Australian jungle to join ITV's I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! did not escape his attention.

He said: "Mr Speaker, if they carry on like that, there'll be plenty of others joining Kezia Dugdale in saying 'I'm Labour... get me out of here!"'

Hammond teased former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson, who claimed over the weekend that he was "almost killed" by a driverless car.

The Chancellor said: "Mr Deputy Speaker, there is perhaps no technology as symbolic of the revolution gathering pace around us as driverless vehicles ... They surely don't want me to make that joke about the Labour Party again.

"I know Jeremy Clarkson doesn't like them but there are many other good reasons to pursue this technology so today we step up our support for it. "Sorry Jeremy, not the first time you've been snubbed by Hammond and May."

15:46

When is a first-time buyer not a first-time buyer?

There are likely to be all sorts of questions about this first-time buyer stamp duty cut over the coming weeks.

For example, what if you have bought and sold property in the past , but currently don't own? Are you exempt from stamp duty?

What if you have never owned property yourself, but your partner with whom you are buying has? Would you get half the tax break?

The gist of it is this.

A first-time buyer must never have had a 'major interest' in a dwelling anywhere in the world.

'If the property is purchased jointly, all the purchasers must meet these conditions' it goes on.

15:33

Does the minimum wage rise go far enough?

The verdict is out among those commenting below.

Rachel 1951 from Glasgow believes no one could possibly survive on £7.83 an hour - the sum after the 33p an hour pay rise kicks in.

Once you factor in costs such as rent, council tax, gas, electricity etc. how on earth do you afford clothes, food and presents for special occasions.

But wakeytrinity in Wakefield responds that it is possible and millions do.

And ronyboy in Dunstable says many do manage - and with fancy cars and phones too.

Share your views in the comments below.

budget comments 4.JPG

15:26

Why are we so unproductive?

Speak for yourself, I hear you say.

But productivity is at the heart of this Budget, and is one of the greatest challenges that the Chancellor faces.

As he pointed out rather gloomily in his last Budget just a few months ago, the average UK worker takes a full week to produce what a German or French worker can produce in four.

That’s a problem.

If workers can produce more in the same number of hours worked, it raises profits for companies, which means that they can pay higher wages and offer goods and services at lower prices.

That’s the explanation from the Budget statement itself.

Conversely, unless productivity goes up, we can wave goodbye to any hopes of a decent pay rise.

Economists have been getting themselves into a tizz in recent years over what they call the ‘productivity puzzle’.

Why is it so low?

Unemployment is at record lows, the economy although sluggish is resilient – so why is the amount we all produce per hour not going up?

According to the Budget document, in over two thirds of developed countries productivity growth has been at least one percentage point slower since 2008 than the preceding decade. But in the UK it’s even worse. Productivity growth has averaged at a measly 0.1 per cent since 2008 compared to 2.1 per cent the decade before. (See the graph below. It looks bad).

One explanation is that we’re not measuring it in the best way.

Another is that we need more investment in getting things moving. The Chancellor aired that view today saying that investment is key.

‘The Budget goes further. It invests in infrastructure and R&D, ensures the UK is a world leader in new technologies, takes steps to transform lifelong learning and increases housing supply.’

Will it be enough to get productivity fired up again?

budget 2017 1.JPG

15:14

'A bigger impact politically than on the economy'

Richard Carter, head of fixed interest research at investment firm Quilter Cheviot-

“Ultimately, we expect this Budget to have a bigger impact politically than it will on the economy – in fact, there was precious little in the budget for investors and markets have mostly responded with a collective shrug. The key issue facing the economy is obviously Brexit and the challenge for the government is to try and break the talks with the EU out of their current impasse. Until there is more certainty on this front, we expect the UK to continue to lag behind other leading economies, particularly Europe and the US.

“The Chancellor’s job today was not made any easier by the latest growth forecasts from the OBR. They slashed their estimates for GDP growth in the coming years on the back of weaker productivity assumptions as well as the obvious Brexit uncertainty. Some of the new forecasts are even gloomier than the market consensus and, remember, this comes at a time when the rest of the global economy is enjoying strong and synchronised growth.

15:04

House builders see their shares plunge

Philip Hammond's threat to compulsory purchase land to build 300,000 homes a year sent shares in Britain's main housebuilders plummeting.

Barratt, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Berkeley Group saw their share prices fall up to 3 per cent in the half an hour the Chancellor was standing in the Commons.

Mr Hammond warned that developers who drag their feet on house building could be forced to release unused plots.

There's been stiff competition for that accolade for some time, so hard to say whether or not this is just hyperbole from Greenpeace.

Nevertheless, although there was plenty of mention of new technologies, driverless cars, AI, 5G, etc, there was not a mention of green technology or that challenge that we and future generations will change.

The Chancellor did show support for tackling single-use plastics - it seems like the Hammonds, like the rest of us, sit down to watch Blue Planet II on Sunday nights.

But he held off talking about energy efficiency, tackling energy bills in the long term or investing in renewables.

John Sauven, chief executive of Greenpeace, said: 'Despite the Chancellor’s pride in the UK’s climate leadership, hidden away in the unannounced text of the budget, he quietly revealed this was one of the least green budgets ever, because there will be no new money for renewables until at least 2025. This is the death knell for new renewable energy like tidal, wave and geothermal technology despite the huge economic opportunities they could bring.

'Instead, his Budget focused on propping up dirty, incumbent industries of the past, from North Sea oil and gas, to polluting diesel cars. The Chancellor’s increase to Vehicle Excise Duty, while making the right noises, was far too weak to shift the market away from polluting diesel vehicles and reduce toxic air pollution that is harming our nation's health.'

Young turtle caught in plastic debris in the ocean on the BBC's Blue Planet II

14:53

'The Chancellor had to walk a narrow tightrope'

John Hawksworth, chief economist at PwC -

"The Chancellor had to walk a narrow tightrope between maintaining fiscal prudence and responding to widespread pressure to ease austerity. He had to do this while facing significant cross-winds from downgrades in the OBR's economic growth forecasts and consequent increases in projected public borrowing in the medium term that were slightly larger than we had expected.

“At first sight, the Chancellor just about managed to keep his balance, although the details will need further scrutiny over the coming days.

“The Chancellor was able to provide some carefully targeted giveaways to support housing, health, skills and infrastructure while still keeping the budget deficit on a downward path. He was helped here by a lower starting point for the deficit this year (around £50 billion rather than £58 billion as the OBR forecast in March) and a reduction of around £3.5-4 billion in future annual borrowing due to English housing associations being reclassified to the private sector by the ONS from this month onwards."

14:44

Wondering what a house looks like?

Luckily the Treasury has put together this helpful graphic, showing the announcement that there will be no stamp duty on homes under £300k for first-time buyers, accompanied by a moving graphic of a house.

The fine print of the Budget reveals. It brought in £5.3billion this year, £5.4billion is expected next, £5.7billion in 2019, then £5.9billion, £6.2billion all the way up to £6.5billion in 2022.

The main reason that inheritance tax has been rising in recent years is house price rises. More and more people are being caught by the tax as the value of their homes rises above the total that can be passed on to loved ones tax free.

So the fact that inheritance tax costs are expected to increase over the next five years is telling. While the Chancellor may have just announced a massive package of measures designed to help make homes more affordable, it looks like the government is still expecting house prices to rise.

14:25

No pension tinkering for a change!

Pension tinkering has proven absolutely irresistible for Chancellors in recent budgets, what with Osborne's pension freedoms, and announcements around the triple lock, autoenrolment, etc.

Every Budget commentators wonder whether this will be the one where the Chancellor goes after pension tax relief - but once again the current system lived to see another day.

Pension tax relief is worth £53billion a year - a sizeable pot for a skint Chancellor - that's why people think it's only a matter of time before one goes after it. But not this time.

There was also no further tinkering with the yearly or lifetime allowance - seen as even easier targets as people think they only affect the rich - and because they're complicated and boring so under less scrutiny.

14:14

The drive for electric cars

Some interesting thoughts here from David Martell, chief executive of Chargemaster, a firm that is leading the way on installing electric car charging points around the UK, for homes, businesses and councils.

David said: ‘The package of support announced by the Chancellor in the Budget is good news for the EV sector. We welcome the continued incentives for electric car purchases through the Plug-in Car Grant.

‘Of course, these incentives will not be needed indefinitely, and manufacturers predict that the cost of building an electric car will drop below the cost of producing a petrol or diesel car within the next five years. It is also worth pointing out that consumers can buy an electric car for as little as £5,000 in the used market.

‘The £400m announced to support EV charging infrastructure is good news for charge point suppliers and operators such as Chargemaster, and we hope that some of this funding will be directed towards preparing network connections and reinforcing the electricity grid where required. We have already attracted private investment into the deployment of charge points across the UK, and having sufficient suitable sites at which to install them is important.

‘As a British manufacturer of charge points, and the only company to make rapid chargers in the UK, we welcome the additional £40m of R&D funding for the EV charging sector, having already brought some of the most innovative charging products to market, such as our Ultracharge rapid charger.

‘The Chancellor’s clarification that employees who charge their electric car at work will not face any Benefit-in-Kind taxation is great news, both for EV drivers and employers, giving businesses even more reason to install charging points at their premises for their employee, fleet and company vehicles.’

- Simon Lambert

14:11

A stamp duty giveaway... not really

The stamp duty cut for first-time buyers is good but home movers need help too.

The Government is clearly still planning on cashing in more on high house prices, stamp duty take is forecast to keep rising up to a bumper £15.8billion by 2023.

- Simon L

Stamp duty.JPG

14:03

Boost for avocado sales?

Sandra Glab on Twitter jokes that aspiring buyers can start buying avocados again thanks to the stamp duty announcement.

With rising house prices meaning that aspiring first-time buyers need to save tens of thousands for a deposit, a stamp duty cut won't bring home ownership much closer.

Perhaps reader 'The Hustler' who left a comment earlier suggesting they were expecting more 'smoke and mirrors' might be right.

The head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies Paul Johnson points out that the Office for Budget Responsibility shows that there will be spending giveaways in the short term and takeaways in the longer term.

Savers continue to endure terrible interest rates. There is not a single savings account that gets anywhere near beating the current inflation rate of three per cent. That means that every day the value of savers' cash is eroded a little further.

Our savings expert and consumer affairs editor Lee Boyce just trawled the full Budget document for a mention of savers. This is what he found:

In classic Budget tradition, Hammond did indeed end with pulling a rabbit out of the hat with the stamp duty cut for first time buyers.

And he used his drama-building trick once again, saying that some people had called for a temporary stamp duty holiday but he was going further than that as that wouldn't help people who weren't yet ready to buy - he's going to scrap it for first-time buyers altogether.

Like Chris Tarrant's 'but we're not going to give you that' trick on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, when he swapped £16,000 cheques for £32,000 cheques. Nothing like building a bit of drama.

But he says places like London homes cost more than that. So the stamp duty cut will apply to the first £300,000 on any homes costing up to £500,000. Says this amounts to a cut of £5,000.

It's worth mentioning here that already no stamp duty is paid on homes costing up to £125,000.

13:34

He's throwing money at housing

Hammond says 'There is no single magic bullet' to fix the housing market.

Or as he's calling it today 'the housing challenge'. Sounds like a board game.

He says 'Today we set out an ambitious plan to tackle housing challenge'.

Plans to boost resources, skills and land supply.

He then starts throwing out numbers in billions of pounds to improve infrastructure. Honestly, there are so many billions of pounds numbers my fingers can't keep up. We'll update with them all shortly.

But the upshot is he's promising '300,000 net additional homes by mid 2020s'.

It amounts to at least £44 billion of capital funding, loans and guarantees over five yearsto support house-building.

We'll trawl through the numbers later to work out what of this £44billion is new money and what has been announced already.

And along with all the funding he's promising an 'urgent review'. Nothing like an 'urgent review'.

13:29

Crackdown on empty homes

Local authorities will be able to charge a 100 per cent council tax premium on empty properties, he says.

13:29

Grenfell Tower

He says it 'should never have happened' and we 'must make sure will never happen again'.

Tells local authorities who have problems with funds to invest in essential fire safety work to get in touch.

And he promises funding to the borough of Kensington and Chelsea where Grenfell Tower is - £28million for mental health counselling, regeneration support and a community space.

13:25

Fuel duty freeze has cost £46billion since 2010

But he's still not increasing it.

Announces cancellation of fuel duty rise for both petrol and diesel, which had been scheduled for April.

This seems to be a theme of this Budget. Not necessarily announcing perks for different groups. But announcing tax increases that could have been that he has decided not to go for in the end - gratitude on a lower budget.

13:23

What a tease!!

Hammond talks at length about the VAT threshold for small businesses.

He says at £85,000 it's too high for many reasons. He says it's much higher than almost anywhere else, particularly Germany.

He says that the Office for Tax Simplification has real concerns about it.

He says it 'distorts competition'.

And then? And then?

He says he's leaving it as it is.

Seems he doesn't want to go after small businesses again after he got forced into a u-turn last time around when he tried to increase National Insurance for them.

13:19

Nurses

...deserve our deepest gratitude, he says.

BUT

He's not promising a pay rise though. Just says that Jeremy Hunt is going to look into things and report back.

I'm sure nurses will like to hear how much they are valued.

I'm sure they'd like a pay rise above one per cent when inflation is at three per cent, before Christmas even more.

13:17

Income inequality: How rich are you?

The Chancellor is now talking about income inequality, as he ups the tax-free earnings allowance to £11,850 and reverses his predecessors' fiscal drag tactics by upping the higher rate 40% tax threshold to £46,350.

Who will this help and where do you stand on earnings? We published this article in January that lets you find out.

Let's see what big businesses that employ lower paid workers say about this, such as the care sector. Many say they are already reeling from the last rises. Especially companies for which staff is the highest cost.

13:14

Merry Christmas Mr Deputy Speaker!

Says Hammond as he freezes duty on most ciders, beer, wine and whiskey.

He gets a massive cheer.

I hope they realise he's not cutting costs, just not upping taxes on them.

The only exception is certain types of cider, which he says are doing harm.

13:11

Help for younger workers

Hammond promises an increase to the minimum wage for young people.

It's the stuff like this that is crucial to this Budget. Hammond has to show that he is on the side of young people, who are moving to Labour and its promises of reducing student loans and more.

The minimum wage is lower for younger workers - now it's time for a boost.

13:09

Universal credit 'waiting game'

We knew this was coming in the Budget too, but important nonetheless.

The change to universal credit is causing real issues for people, as there can be a six week wait for the first payment to come through.

Hammond says that this wait will be reduced and more support given.

13:08

More investing in skills

Hammond announces a new partnership between Government, CBI and TUC to "set the strategic direction" for a National Retraining Scheme to boost digital skills and supportexpansion of the construction sector.

We know about this one too.

If we're going to be building tens of thousands of new homes in an attempt to make homes affordable, this is going to be important.

After the financial crisis, thousands of qualified professionals left the construction sector because building and jobs dried up. That is one of the issues with firing up construction again. Let's hope that investment in skills helps.

Immediate investment of £30 million in the development of digital skills distance learning courses,

13:02

More maths for everyone

'Don't let anyone say I don't let anyone say I don't know how to show the nation a good time' he jokes - completely reinforcing the notion that maths is boring - (not sure that's very helpful at this juncture).

Hammond announces a further £20 million to support further education colleges to prepare to deliver T-levels.

Government to provide £40 million to train maths teachers. New £600 Maths Premium for schools, for every additional pupil who takes A level or Core maths.

We knew this was coming. Reports it was added in rather last minute to add a bit of pizzazz to what might have been a lacklustre Budget.

13:02

More money for electric cars... but is this enough?

The Chancellor has released more money for electric cars but for widespread adoption much more than this is needed - it doesn't go that far.

'I know that Jeremy Clarkson doesn’t like them but there are many other reasons to support this technology,' he says.

‘Sorry Jeremy, but this is definitely not the first time you’ve been snubbed by Hammond and May.'

12:56

The debt vs the deficit

Our debt and our deficit are things that have tripped up politicians and commentators before.

The debt is the total amount of money that the country owes - and now stands at a staggering £1.79trillion.

The deficit is how much more we spend each year that we take in. It was £45.7billion last year.

The reason why Hammond is talking about the structural deficit, is because this is the overspending that can't be put down to one-off factors. Instead, it is one that comes from a fundamental imbalance in what we spend and tax receipts.

Getting the deficit down has proved a much more successful task than reducing our debt - which is stubbornly refusing to shrink.

Some economists even argue that by next year, we will have got the deficit down to as low as it needs to go and that we can continue to run a small annual deficit to help the economy.

Others are much more hawkish and want to see deficit turn to surplus and that debt start to get paid down.

The advantage the UK has on its debt and any fears of default, is that we have our own currency and can print our own money. So we can always choose to cover debt payments with a devalued pound or even at the extremes by creating money. Too much of that though and you will lose the faith of the markets.

- Simon Lambert

12:52

And back to the deficit

After his intro of vision-setting, talking of a bright Brexit, being at the forefront of technology, he’s back to the usual, with lists of numbers relating to government debt.

He’s making it very clear that that is a real priority.

Investment yes, but not losing sight of getting the deficit down.

He says borrowing to fall as a percentage of GDP from 2.4% this year, to 1.9% next

year; then 1.6%, 1.5% and 1.3% in subsequent yeas, reaching 1.1% in 2022/23.

12:49

Well done, Phil, someone shouts as he says...

'Our debt is still to high and we need to get it down.'

'The OBR expects debt to peak this year and then gradually fall as a share of GDP. A turning point in our recovery.'

Well if he didn't just try another jokeywoke after that! He made one earlier about Theresa May's cough sweets. And now he jokes about I'm a celebrity get me out of here.

It's not something he's known for, old 'spreadsheet Phil' or 'Fiscal Phil' as he's known.

It really sounds like he can hear the rousing Hollywood blockbuster music in the background has he talks of a bright future, Britain as a 'Beacon' to the rest of the world, Britain as 'an outward looking, free trading nation, a force for good in the world'.

That's that positivity and vision everyone's been demanding of him.

12:42

And third the cost of living

He talks about families struggling, levels of debt and promises 'a prosperous and inclusive economy'

12:42

Budget days past: Publicans' sharp practice

Does everyone remember the annual moan of regulars turning up at their local on the evening of the Budget to find that the canny landlord had already bunged the raised duty on the price a pint of beer - even though he wasn't yet paying it?

Let's hope this is a moot point (though it seems to be less of a thing these days), and the Chancellor does add to the 2p beer duty hike in March - the first rise in five years.

12:42

And next technology

'Britain is at the forefront of this technological revolution,' he says.

But we must invest to secure that bright future for Britain.

12:41

He starts with Brexit

Hammond says:

'We have already invested nearly £700million in Brexit investment.'

Says he's setting aside another £3billion. And ready to spend more if necessary.

‘No one should doubt our resolve’.

12:38

Kick off!

Hammond has just stood up, but from the comments so far on the Live Blog, it doesn't seem that many of you are very optimistic about what this Budget could offer.

budget comments 3.JPG

12:31

Piling on the pressure

Hammond's promising big stuff - just tweeted this (is he tweeting during PMQs?)

It’s easy to see the annual Budget statement as simply an exercise in shifting around numbers – a few more pence on this one, a quid or two shaved off that.

But it’s much more than that, particularly this one.

It’s the Chancellor’s – and the government’s chance to paint a picture of how our economy is looking now, and present a vision of what is to come.

In this case Hammond has to tread a fine line. He’s been criticised for being too much of an ‘Eeyore’, too down on Brexit.

But he also has grounded his credibility on being solid, realistic, reliable, unflappable, dare I say it – dull.

So somehow he has to paint a picture that is hopeful, sunny, but also grounded, solid.

He told the Sunday Times this week: ‘I recognise that I can’t use this budget to just trail a bunch of numbers. I need to tell a story about where Britain is going, to paint a picture of what Britain’s economy looks like beyond Brexit – and how Britain is going to prosper.’

So make yourself a cup of tea, find a comfy chair and get ready for story time.

Youngsters watching Prince Charles reading a story on television programme, Jackanory.
. REXSCANPIX.

12:22

A lively PMQs to set the scene

Feisty clashes between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn at Prime Minister's questions are stoking up the atmosphere in the Commons.... less than 10 minutes to go

11:51

Beware the boring stuff!

There’s a special trick that Chancellors use when they want to up the coffers without upsetting anyone too much.

They go after the boring-sounding stuff.

Know much about IPT?

No? That’s precisely why that tax has been increased three times in the past couple of years.

Chancellors sift through the most dull-sounding, innocuous-seeming stuff and then pounce on it.

IPT – the insurance premium tax – might not sound like much, but it’s a tax that’s put on all types of insurance. Because of the recent increases, the cost of your car, home, travel, pet, health – everything – insurance will have gone up over the past year or so. When households are already struggling that can make a real difference.

It’s not that the Treasury suddenly turned on the idea of insurance, or suddenly decided to discourage us from taking it out (it would say this is the last thing it would want us to do, although there are fears that it will). It’s simply that IPT is boring.

So watch out for other boring stuff – it tends to be an easy target.

Another one today that might come up is the pension lifetime allowance. Sounds dull, easy to think it only affects rich people, but it doesn’t just. The amount of money that we can put into pensions every year and over our lifetimes without having to pay tax on it has been shaved away bit by bit in recent years. We’ll be watching to see if it faces the same treatment today.

Boris Johnson having a good yawn

...and Jeremy Corbyn stretching his jaw muscles as well. REXMAILPIX.

11:38

And a big hand to...

...and Sky News' Aubrey Allegretti points out that if nothing else, Hammond did get one round of applause today.

The Chancellor dodged the diesel question in the last Budget but delivered the ominous sounding line that he would 'continue to explore the appropriate tax treatment for diesel vehicles, and will engage with stakeholders ahead of making any tax changes at Autumn Budget 2017'.

Since then we've had the pledge to drum out new sales of solely petrol and diesel cars by 2030 - and the Government try to shift the emphasis on tackling pollution on to local authorities, which is leading to something of a piecemeal mess that could backfire as residents accuse councils of cashing in.

The Chancellor is treading a fine line today between needing to do things and not wanting to upset anyone.

In time-honoured tradition, much of the content of today’s Budget has already been leaked or shared.

But Chancellors also tend to hold one thing back – a crowd pleaser, the so-called rabbit in a hat – something to make us all go ‘Ooooh!’ and give the Chancellor some lovely front page headlines tomorrow morning.

There’s more pressure than ever for Hammond to pull a real beauty out of the hat this year, to show he’s got some great ideas and to lift the mood a bit.

So what’s it going to be?

Well the go-to rabbit in recent years has been some kind of new fancy Isa. Everyone likes an Isa.

There was the short-lived help to buy Isa, then the lifetime Isa. Are we Isa-ed out now? I fear we are.

So what then?

Well one option is to move forward plans to raise the personal allowance. At the moment, there is a plan to make sure that no one pays any income tax at all on the first £12,500 they earn by 2020. He could move that forward. Hardly fireworks, but it is something that would give the lowest earners a pay boost and that can make a real difference.

European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), feeding on field, Isle of May, Scotland, United Kingdom

11:05

Did he pull an all-nighter?

A light was pictured on at Number 11 Downing Street around 4.30 this morning.

Since the arrival of social media, Chancellors have been known to tweet pictures of themselves putting the final touches to their Budget statements the night before.

Who can forget George Osborne eating his Byron Burger on the eve of his 2013 Budget statement. (If you have, fear not, we've pasted a reminder below).

But if Hammond was up into the wee hours, it does seem to be cutting it a bit fine.

It also doesn't seem like his usual style. Let's hope he's not feeling the pressure. Last year his pre-Budget snap showed him calmly sipping a cup of tea.

The rest of the Cabinet then turned up at Number 10 first thing this morning for a pre-Budget briefing. So no chance of a lie in if he was up at half four.

Osborne and his Byron burger on the eve of a Budget statement. Source: PA

Ever so serene - Hammond this time last year on the eve of his Budget statement

The Chancellor is expected to lay out his or her vision for the country, and set out how the hundreds of billions of pounds collected in taxes will be shared out to best improve our lives and make things fairer.

But Philip Hammond today is facing a mammoth task this afternoon.

The last Budget was not exactly a triumph, with the centre piece about raising taxes for the self employment shelved within just days.

So he’s under pressure to prove he can do better.

That’s the personal pressure. Then there’s pressure to show the government’s vision for the country in the run up to Brexit. It’s been a difficult few months for the government, it’s fair to say, with high-profile resignations, Brexit deal wrangling, a weakened majority following a less-than-triumphant general election.

This is the Chancellor’s chance to put all that to one side, to show vision, new ideas and to help shape the economy for the next stage in our future.

Tricky at the best of times.

But he’s got to do that with basically no extra money to spend.

He’s determined that we’re going to keep our borrowing as low as possible and that means we can only spend what’s in the pot.

So how is he going to show vision and announce new ideas without spending any new money?

The pressure is on.

10:38

What’s it all about?

It’s easy to get excited about all the technicalities of the Budget statement, and the politics behind it, but really it just boils down to this.

We all paid in taxes to the tune of around £726billion last year, according to figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

It’s up to the Chancellor to decide how to spend it and that’s what he’s going to tell us this afternoon.

He may end up spending more than that – that’s the deficit. But he’s been hinting very strongly that he’s going to try his best not to, and to stick to his aim of reducing it to less than two per cent by 2020-21.

Source: IFS

10:31

Welcome to our Budget live blog!

It’s Budget day! At 12.30 this afternoon, the Chancellor will stand up in the House of Commons and tell us how much is being collected in taxes and what the government plans to spend it all on.

But the announcements made this afternoon can affect everything - how much we retire on, where we can afford to live, how much we get paid, how much it costs us to get to work – even what we pay for beer.

Here This is Money will blog the analysis, reaction and charts from the experts and our own journalists through the day - as well as what you the readers are saying in reader comments and on social media

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